SFA-AGR-184-08

17 March 2008 – The 22nd Fribourg International Film Festival (FIFF) held its week-long festivities from 1 to 8 March 2008 featuring ultra realist/fiction films from more than a dozen participating countries from Latin America, Africa, and Asia. The Philippine entry selected for the competition was “Tribu” – a full length film by Director Jim Libiran depicting contemporary Tondo as seen through the eyes of a 10-year old Tondo lad.

In her speech during the FIFF opening ceremony, Swiss Foreign Affairs Minister Micheline Calmy Rey considered the film festival to be an effective instrument in promoting the Southeast Asian culture in Switzerland, bridging the cultural gap between countries and peoples in a concerted effort to bringing about international understanding.

Philippine Ambassador to Berne Minerva Jean Falcon hosted a dinner in honor of Filipino cineastes Director Jim Libiran and wife Michelle Moreno, Executive Producer of “Tribu”, and Script Writer Ralston Jover, at a Fribourg restaurant. The three Filipino honorees were joined by FIFF President Ms. Ruth Luthi, former Artistic Director Mr. Martial Knaebel and Filipina wife, actress Evelyn Vargas, and Mr. Paulo da Senhora, European film distributor of “Tribu”.

Mrs. Luthi has expressed appreciation for the dinner invitation which gave her a firsthand experience of “bridging the gap” of cultures through direct association with the Filipino film makers and the Embassy officials. END

wingret